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News Indian jewellery body to host international digital trading event India as well as buyers from across the world an opportunity to interact and make decisions in a similar way as they used to do at a physical show”. Dilip Shah, convener international GJEPC, added, “The VBSMs will help our buyers to check out new product developments without travelling, explore new sourcing opportunities, compare and analyse products and services of exhibitors without any distraction.” The Gem & <strong>Jeweller</strong>y Export Promotion Council has announced the first in a series of Virtual Buyer and Seller Meets. The Gem & <strong>Jeweller</strong>y Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) has announced it will hold a Virtual Buyer and Seller Meet (VBSM) on 27–28 <strong>August</strong> to allow Indian manufacturers to showcase diamond jewellery and loose stones to international buyers. Products will be displayed on a dedicated secure GJEPC website with a user-friendly search function. Registered buyers and sellers will then be matched through the site and have video meetings scheduled and managed by the GJEPC, alongside a team of international coordinators. The GJEPC postponed the India International <strong>Jeweller</strong>y Show (IIJS) Premiere – the country’s largest jewellery trade fair – earlier this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic; it had been scheduled to take place from 6–10 <strong>August</strong>. Another major Indian diamond trade event, Bharat Diamond Week, was held digitally last week. Colin Shah, chairman GJEPC, said, “The demand for gems and jewellery is slowly recovering in markets like the US, China and other parts of the world. We need to make sure that we reach out to these buyers and meet their requirements. “This is the time to explore the digital world, and make the best use of it to showcase our products through virtual medium and help buyers make informed decisions.” Vipul Shah, vice-chairman GJEPC, explained that the VBSM would “give our exhibitors in “The demand for gems and jewellery is slowly recovering in markets like the US, China and other parts of the world. We need to make sure that we reach out to these buyers and meet their requirements. This is the time to explore the digital world” – Colin Shah, GJEPC He added, “I am glad that we have been able to create an advanced user-friendly set-up which would give our buyers an experience better than the real one. “A series of VBSMs are organised over the next few months, which would help our buyers across the world to source gems and jewellery from the comfort of their homes or offices.” The diamond VBSM is intended to be the first of many, with future digital trading events focused on other categories within the jewellery market, such as gold, colour gemstones, and platinum. Jail likely for gold buyers linked to 2017 store robberies Judge Scott Johns has indicated Alejandro Mendieta Blanco (left) will face a custodial sentence for handling stolen jewellery and watches. A Melbourne judge has indicated a custodial sentence is likely for three gold dealers who have pleaded guilty to receiving stolen goods, which were taken from jewellery stores during a spate of armed robberies three years ago. Alejandro Mendieta Blanco, 34, his brother Julio Mendieta Blanco, 37, and their associate Chey Tenenboim, 39, were initially charged with more than 400 offences each following a raid on their business, Gold Buyers Melbourne, in October 2017. Police reportedly collected more than 1,900 hours of surveillance footage, while undercover officers were able to sell gold jewellery and watches to Gold Buyers Melbourne for “off the books” payments without showing identification, as is required by law. Earlier this year, all three pleaded guilty to single charges of receiving stolen goods as part of a deal with prosecutors and paid back $165,000. The Mendieta Blanco brothers are currently free on bail, while Tenenboim’s bail was revoked in mid-July. At a hearing at the County Court on 31 July, Judge Scott Johns described the actions of the three men as “very dishonest, it’s brazen, it’s audacious. There is no moral compass being applied.” He added that they were “acting as a customer for the thief” by running a “particularly lucrative business”; The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald report that Gold Buyers Melbourne turned over $66 million in the 2015-16 financial year. Judge Johns dismissed a suggestion for a community correction order for Alejandro Mendieta Blanco and told his legal representative, Justin Hannebery QC, that his client should prepare to serve a prison term. Prosecutors are seeking a harsher sentence for Tenenboim as the scale of offending was larger. Last month David Grace QC, acting for Tenenboim, requested a community correction order or a prison term short enough to allow him to return home for his son’s bar mitzvah in November. However, Judge Johns said that Tenenboim was unlikely to be freed before then. All three men will be sentenced this month. <strong>August</strong> <strong>2020</strong> | 21
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